


The Data of the Lock

by Marks



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-08
Updated: 2006-01-08
Packaged: 2018-03-04 05:17:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2953745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marks/pseuds/Marks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inui's finally figured it out -- Tezuka's tennis is in his hair, and Samson's problems were all psychosomatic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Data of the Lock

**Author's Note:**

> Tezuka and Inui play each other in the ranking matches and Inui wears this bracelet that we get no explanation about _ever_ , a lot of discussion went on about the bracelet being made from Tezuka's hair and Inui being a serial killer in training. Fandom.

"That's it!" Inui shouted at the figures scribbled into his notebook. He didn't usually get so excited solving equations, as the occurrence was one that happened fairly often, but this was a problem he'd been working on for nearly two years. Inui had finally -- _finally_ \-- figured out the secret to Tezuka's tennis ability.

It was his _hair_. Inui didn't know why it hadn't been obvious before.

The television in his bedroom played their last practice in slow motion, and Inui watched, fascinated, as Tezuka's hair pointed in the direction of his racket a split second before Tezuka's arm had a chance to catch up. Drop shots, serves, lobs, smashes, chance balls, whatever -- it didn't matter. The hair never lied.

And now that that problem was solved, Inui just had to find a way to harvest that power. He didn't want Tezuka useless; they were teammates, after all, and truth be told, there were few players Inui found more exciting to watch than Tezuka. He simply thought this might be the thing that brought his data tennis to a new level and made Seigaku formidable in a whole new way.

Inui pushed up his glasses. This required more thought.

\---

He watched Tezuka a lot that next day. They weren't in the same class for their year, but Inui knew Tezuka practiced on the courts by himself most mornings, and they shared lunch period and tennis practice after school. In that time, he observed that the hair didn't just predict tennis, but mood, too. When Tezuka hit a ball that went out, the hair wilted at the ends. It strained toward red bean pastries and away from pickled cabbage. When someone stepped too far into Tezuka's personal space, Tezuka wouldn't step away, but his hair would become 15% flatter, brushing away from his forehead.

It was fascinating, really. Inui scribbled furiously into his notebook as he completed his new data. When he looked up again, Tezuka was watching him from the courts, racket held loosely at his side. The hair was pointed toward him. Inui was pleased.

There were ten-to-one odds he'd just need a lock or two, not very much at all. And he knew where Tezuka lived.

\---

Getting into Tezuka's bedroom was so easy that Inui made a mental note to anonymously mail Tezuka's parents information on top-of-the-line security systems. The lack of challenge felt almost like cheating.

He'd imagined Tezuka would be a light sleeper, but that didn't seem to be the case. Tezuka was sprawled out across his bed, arms and legs flung to all corners. With his glasses resting on the table next to him and his mouth slightly open and wet at the corners with drool, Inui could no longer see the grown-up too many adults mistook Tezuka for. There was a lack of challenge there, too, but Inui didn't think the strange feeling that tugged at his stomach had much to do with cheating.

Inui knelt next to Tezuka's bed, and watched for a moment as Tezuka's chest rose and fell in the regular pattern of sleep. His hand hovered over Tezuka's face for a moment, finally daring to push some of the hair off his forehead. Inui reached into his bag, thinking of a story he once heard where a man lost his power when a woman cut off all his hair.

"There is a 92% chance that the loss of that man's strength could be attributed to psychosomatic causes," Inui whispered quietly to Tezuka's hair, into Tezuka's ear. The metallic slide of the scissors sounded too loud in the quiet of Tezuka's room. Inui snipped again and sealed the plastic bag, examining the trapped hair over the tops of his glasses. "But this is just a little bit, and what Tezuka doesn't know won't hurt him."

\---

Two days later, Inui toyed with the new braided bracelet circling his wrist, nodding along as Ryuzaki-sensei named Tezuka their captain for the next year. After the announcement, he played Kawamura and beat him for the first time ever. The next year was already shaping up to be a memorable one.

Inui sidled up to Tezuka after practice. "You know," he said, "I've collected data on our team, along with several teams in the area. I think it will help us win nationals next year. Would you be interested in seeing it?"

Between Tezuka's hair and Inui's brain, Inui saw infinite possibilities.

"Yes," Tezuka replied without hesitation.

And his hair stood straight up.


End file.
